FAME, FORTUNE, OR GOD?

 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.

Colossians 3:23

 

What do you do with a gift when God has given you one – a gift you love to use. Use it to seek fame or fortune? And, if not those, what else?

Someone I know sought to be well-known – to make a name – to have her work seen and admired. And it was seen and it was admired. Gallery showings. A magazine spread. Speaking at conferences. Winning golds and silvers at competitions.

She was acquiring the fame she sought. But, she thought, is this all there is to becoming well-known? There was nothing meaningful in it. It did not satisfy or give her joy.

She sought to earn money, never having been able to before. Clients arrived, willing to pay much for her work. Neither did this satisfy. “We have enough,” she thought. “Money comes and money goes. Of what value is it? What is its real lasting value?”

As life went on she found a better way to use the gifts God had given her. She learned how she could use them to reveal God to those who needed him. She learned how working for God is the best reason for living and gives more joy. This is where she found her satisfaction. This is what made her life more meaningful than before.

Thank you for our gifts, Lord.